If you love wine, Napa is one of the best places to go wine tasting. The wine is incredible, and the scenery is beautiful.
There are countless wineries to try in Napa, and since my husband and I are creatures of habit, we’ve found a few that we love and tend to stick with. We’re also members of a couple, influencing our decision on where to go when we visit.
Before you head to any wineries, don’t forget to pack your DHM to prevent those wine headaches!
Wineries off the beaten path
Right before we found out we were expecting our son, we went wine tasting in Napa with some friends. They took us to Keenan Winery in the Spring Mountain District of St. Helena, and we instantly fell in love with the area.
To get to wineries in this area, you venture up a windy road to what feels like the middle of nowhere. But once you get to your destination, the views are amazing, and there are a lot less people.
When visiting wineries in Spring Mountain, always make reservations and don’t Uber there. It would be a bummer to drive all the way up there to find out they can’t squeeze you in for a tasting or get stuck if you Ubered.
Keenan Winery
Keenan Winery is a small winery located in the Spring Mountain District of St. Helena. This hidden gem appears after driving for approximately 20 minutes on an uphill windy road.
The winery offers impressive views, and the intimate setting makes it feel like a private wine tasting. Reservations are required to visit, and they manage their schedule well to avoid overcrowding. Even when other groups are present, it never feels cramped, and the staff remains highly attentive.
Aside from the ambiance, we love their wines, and their price points are very reasonable for Napa. Some of our favorites include their Zinfindel, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and the Summer Blend, aka the Patio Pounder! 🤣
If you have some time to spare before your appointment, bring lunch to enjoy at their picnic tables overlooking the vineyard.
Pride Mountain Vineyards
After visiting Keenan several times, we decided to try another winery in the Spring Mountain District. Keenan recommended Pride Mountain Vineyards, and it was only five minutes away.
It was just me and my husband the first time we visited, and I scheduled the Summit Room tour. It’s a private tour through their wine caves that leads to their Summit Room, where we had additional wine tastings and food pairings. This has been my favorite tour in Napa to date!
We’ve done the Summit Room tour twice, and both times, it was outstanding. The tour guides were very informative and fun to hang out with. The fees are waived if you buy wine or are a Summit Circle Member.
Aside from the tours, the property is awesome to explore. The border between Napa and Sonoma splits the winery, so they have two wineries and two sets of books since there’s business done in two different counties.
If you make reservations here, make them far in advance, especially if you want to do the Summit Room tour. I made our reservations three months in advance, and they had limited times available.
As far as their wines go, we love all of them. We think their Cabernet Franc is the absolute best, but their Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfindel, Syrah, and Chardonnay are also amazing, so it just depends on what you like. But I haven’t had any that I did not like.
Other wineries to add to your list
We tend to stick to the Spring Mountain area these days, but occasionally, we venture out to some other wineries we like.
Grgich Hills Estate
Oh boy, are you in for a treat if you visit Grgich Hills Estate! Their wine is the crème de la crème! But the price point is also in a whole different ballpark. We haven’t become members yet, but someday (I can see my husband shaking his head 😂).
Grgich has a beautiful property located in Rutheford. You don’t need reservations to taste here, but if you’re looking for a more private tasting, you should make an appointment.
Their Cabernet Sauvignon is exceptional, but we also enjoy their other varieties of wine. I even liked the dessert wine, even though I’m not a fan of this style.
Sterling Vineyards
Sterling Vineyards is a really unique experience. It sits up on the top of a mountain, and you take an aerial tram to get there. The winery is huge and has stunning views overlooking Napa.
My son was five months old the first time we visited, and we brought him with us. Yes, you can bring babies to Napa, and it was one of the most fun trips we had! More on that later.
We tried to visit more recently, but they’ve been closed and doing renovations due to the Glass fire back in 2020. It looks like they’re set to reopen in October 2023.
Where to stay
Napa hotel prices can be unreasonable. We’ve tried different places, some in Napa and others in Fairfield just outside. Out of all the places we’ve stayed, I really only have one to tell you about.
Springhill Suites
We stayed at Springhill Suites Napa Valley during our last visit. It has been my favorite hotel in Napa so far, and I’d definitely stay there again.
Our room was large, and there was a very nice pool. The hotel bar offered food and drinks, and outside there was cornhole set up and a large firepit with seating. They have a complimentary breakfast in the morning, which is okay, but having something is nice.
A very good Italian restaurant, La Strada, is nearby if you’re hungry for dinner. It was a five-minute Uber ride to get there.
This hotel also has electric charging stations for cars, which worked out well for us since we ended up with a hybrid rental car.
Where to eat
We don’t really eat in Napa much…we’re there for the wine! But I still have a few delicious spots to recommend.
Gott’s Roadside
Amazing hamburgers! Gott’s Roadside ranks up there as one of the best burgers I’ve eaten.
This casual spot is a perfect place to stop for a bite in between tastings. It wasn’t very busy when we went, but there were times when we drove by and saw a long line to order.
Filippi’s Pizza Grotto
If you live in San Diego, you’ve probably heard of Filippi’s Pizza Grotto since most of their locations are there. When we saw there was one in Napa, we had to go.
My husband and I had our wedding rehearsal dinner at a Filippi’s restaurant in San Diego, and the food was a hit with everyone. Since then, we’ve kept things simple by dining at a different Filippi’s location every year for our anniversary. There are fifteen locations, so we don’t have to pick a new restaurant until our 16th. Seven years left!
For our second anniversary, we were in Napa, so we went to the Filippi’s there, and it did not disappoint. You can’t go wrong with their pizza or pasta. We always get both!
La Strada
If you’re in the mood for Italian, La Strada is a great place to try, especially if you’re staying at Springhill Suites Napa Valley. It’s only five minutes away.
I love everything about this restaurant. The food, drinks, decor, and service are excellent.
Safeway
This is our go-to for eating lunch in Napa. We usually drive to Napa from Sacramento, so when we arrive, we stop at Safeway to pick up sandwiches before heading to our first tasting.
Most wineries have places to sit out and eat or have a picnic, so when we’re hungry, we just grab our sandwiches from the car a pick a place to eat.
Which airport to fly into
We’ve tried flying into San Francisco (SFO), Oakland (OAK), and Sacramento (SMF). More commonly, we fly into Sacramento because my parents live there, but we’ve also found it easier to commute to Napa.
Flying into San Francisco can be risky with the weather and all the delays it causes. Then, you could face heavy traffic from there if you drive or need to hop on the BART. This is our least favorite way of getting to Napa. I would avoid it.
Oakland is a little better than San Francisco, but you could still run into some weather delays and traffic getting out of Oakland.
It’s probably obvious by now that our favorite airport to fly into is Sacramento. It’s a smaller airport, will have far fewer weather delays, and it has the shortest commute. There’s also less traffic going in this direction to Napa.
Oh, baby!
When we took our five-month-old son to a winery, I thought to myself, “You brought a baby to a bar?” But I have to say it ended up being one of our best trips in Napa.
Every winery was very welcoming, and they loved that we had our son with us.
At the first winery we went to, a couple of older gentlemen were doing a tasting. They started talking to us and offered to hold our son while we tasted, so we said yes, please! Our son was entertained, and we got to taste some wine without one of us holding him on one hip.
On the same trip, we went to Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, and our son started to get fussy. A woman sitting near us offered to take him, and she played with him while we finished our anniversary dinner. It was so sweet!
So, if you ever wondered if you can bring your baby to wineries in Napa, yes, you can!
Now, if you have kids who are on the move, that is a different story. We only took our son that one time, but I think most wineries don’t allow kids. A few might allow, but definitely research or call before.
So, wine not give Napa a try?
Book your flight to Sacramento (or drive if you are close by), make your reservations, and taste away!
I recommend two wineries a day. We did three last time, and it was too much for us. If you head to Keenan and Pride Mountain, allow yourself an hour and a half at Keenan and two hours at Pride, especially if you try the Summit Room tour. The tastings are shorter than that, but sometimes the appointments go over, or we wander around the wineries.
Check out my Napa Recommendations Quick Guide for a summary of my recommendations.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact me or email holly@howtoholly.com.
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